Gwynedd Director of Ed – The Right Man For The Job?
The pupils of Ysgol y Gader had a rare opportunity to sit down with the
new Director of Education in Gwynedd, Mr. Arwyn Thomas. They
discussed several hot topics such as the England and Wales education
divide, changes to GCSE’s, and the importance of the arts in education.
The Race for Balanced Education
The first question for Mr. Arwyn Thomas was: Why is Wales lagging behind England in educational
terms? The director started by stating that “there are two different systems ran by two different
governments.” This is a prime factor as to why Wales is falling behind.
Mr. Thomas explained how the gap between England and Wales was a surprising 9%, but has now
closed to a mere 0.5%. He told us that the gap would gradually become larger as the curriculum once
again changed for both nations.
“Schools in England specialise in specific subjects.” This is a reason according to the Director of
Education as to why England is ahead of Wales in the race for balanced education.
Mr. Thomas felt that there was more support for the education of England, and that Wales had to
fend for themselves. He obviously felt that this was unfair, and believed that this was unacceptable.
He wished for both countries to be on level terms. He wants the way the way that teachers are
taught to deal with new curriculums to change, and wishes for more educational support in Wales.
Resource Unfairness?
When asked about the unequal resources given to South Wales, he replied that it is a matter of how
many pupils go to those specific schools, and the population of those areas. His point was the more
people, the more need for supplies. He referred to Ysgol y Gader and the plan to make it one large
school for the whole area, in doing so, closing down smaller primary schools. He believed that
creating one large school for one section of Gwynedd would bring in many more resources into the
area. Cllr Louise Hughes said she had been elected because she had fought against the closure of
rural schools. She said in an interview, “This will
be catastrophic to our villages. Opening a large
school – it’s nothing but Anglicising the rural
villages.”
Picture: pupils could be expected to travel up to 45
minutes to attend their chosen courses.
Mr. Thomas stated that Gwynedd was the only
county in Wales that does everything through
the medium of Welsh. “As we have bilingual
schools,” he said, “we should have more resources to help support the two languages.” He
explained that it was our responsibility as people of Gwynedd to have our voices heard.
GCSE Changes
The Director of Education told the pupils that the system isn’t fair at the moment, and that he wasn’t
fond of it at all. He compared the system to a restaurant menu, that it was changed all the time to
improve it. The only thing that changes is the “diet” of the education. His argument was, “If the new
system is closing the gap in the race for balance education, why change it?” Heledd, a pupil from
Ysgol y Gader, stated that, “We feel like guinea pigs. It’s like they’re testing the different systems on
us. It’s unfair.” This is a fair argument, overtime; children could get confused because of the many
changes in systems. Instead of closing the gap in the education unbalance, it could do the opposite.
Mr. Thomas asked the question, “Does the time limit in exams reflect the skills of pupils?” The pupils
answered that in some cases, no, because of the pressure that pupils have on their shoulders when
entering exams. We came to a conclusion that the Director of Education in Gwynedd should do
something to persuade pupils to revise in the days before exams so that the time limits do actually
reflect their skills.
Recruitment and Retention
The pupils asked Mr. Thomas if he had any suggestions on how to attract young new teachers to
rural secondary schools, and how to keep the ones who are already there. He told them, “We need
to create and offer attractive working conditions, and must ensure that the best opportunities are in
Gwynedd.”
He also added that we make sure that they develop, and have time to do their work. The reason for
this is because at the moment teachers don’t have time to go on teaching courses and cannot cope
with the amount of work they must go through. “In the end they end up leaving the school for
someplace else,” Mr. Thomas explained, “we must make sure that their workplace is comfortable
and easy to cope with,” he added. Mr. Jones, a teacher in Ysgol y Gader explained to the pupils why
he moved to a rural secondary school, “It’s in a beautiful part of Wales, and there are smaller
classes, which makes them easier to manage. You also get to know the pupils better.”
Does Music Matter?
Lastly, we asked the Director if he thought music and the arts is an important part of education. His
simple answer was, “yes, it brings out the character of the pupil, and also builds their confidence.”
He also told the group, “children need the opportunities from a young age; they could develop their
social skills.” We asked Myles, a pupil at Ysgol y Gader, what he thought of Mr. Thomas’s comments,
“I agree with his statements, but I’m very passionate about drums, and there’s a lack of music
teachers and resources at our school.”